FDA warns of blood pressure medication shortages due to recalls

Officials at the Food and Drug Administration are warning there could be a shortage of drugs used to treat high blood pressure.

"Valsartan products are in shortage, and we know that other types of products may fall into shortage soon," Dr. Scott Gottlieb and Dr. Janet Woodcock said in an FDA statement released Friday, CNN reported.

Medications that contain valsartan, losartan and irbesartan have been at the center of recalls after an impurity, called NDMA, was found. NDMA is considered an environmental contaminant and a potential carcinogen.

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NDMA may have been introduced into the manufacturing process "from the reuse of materials, such as solvents," CNN reported.

The FDA is testing all angiotensin II receptor blockers, or ARBs, for NDMA and found that some ingredients imported from Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals were contaminated, Reuters reported.

No pharmaceutical products from the company which is based in China are allowed to enter the U.S., CNN reported.

Other companies have also recalled valsartan after the NDMA was found, according to Reuters.

>>Read: Recall Alert: Losartan potassium tablets recalled

Since last summer, dozens of blood pressure medications have been recalled by the FDA, NBC News reported.

Cox Media Group